Ducks
by DreamShadow22452
Summary: One-shot of Will, Cecily and a pond full of ducks at the park after the events of Clockwork Prince, namely Jem's proposal.


**This is my 1st TID fanfic, hope you all enjoy it! Please review!  
**

**The story is set in between Clockwork Prince and Clockwork Princess. It was written before the release of Clockwork Princess.  
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**I am not Cassandra Clare, I do not own The Infernal Devices. Also, the part at the end where Will talks about why he hate ducks was taken from an extra on Cassandra Clare's website.**

Will Herondale walked down the dusty road leading to Hyde Park. A slight breeze disturbed the spring air as he wrapped his coat around him and sped up, trying to put as much distance as possible between him and his sister. Passerby stared at him but after a menacing glare on his part they would walk away. In Will's mind, they were the crazy people, not him. How could they be warm when he was chilled to the bone? How could they be happy when he was so upset? How could they be carefree when the world was coming to an end? A duck stood in his path, blocking the way to the pond, demanding to be fed. Will aimed a kick at the annoying creature, unfortunately missing. "Stupid ducks" He mumbled, "I hate them all. Taunting me because my life sucks and their doesn't. You're too fat already, I'd never dream of giving you a treat!" He yelled at the hopeful bird, earning more than a few incredulous glances. He heard an old man tell his companion that he must be crazy if he was yelling at innocent creatures. Will didn't care. _Let them laugh at me, let them think I'm crazy. Who cares anyway?_ He lunged at the duck, wanting to vent his anger out on the unsuspecting creature, and probably would have killed it had it not been for the gentle hand appearing on his shoulder and a familiar hissing whisper in his ear. "_Will!_ What is up with you today? Let's get back to the institute if you don't want to shop!" Will turned around to look into the shining blue eyes of his sister, Cecily Herondale. They flitted around nervously as she noticed the witnesses standing around listening, eventually coming to rest on Will's face. Will wanted to run away, to glamour himself into invisibility so that her untrained eyes would never find him, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He followed his little sister to a large rock, sitting down. He studied the pond, purposely avoiding the horrid brown creatures swimming in it.

Finally, it was Cecily that broke the comfortable silence. "What's wrong Will? Why don't you want to buy Tessa and Jem a wedding present? You can tell me, you know"

"I'm not going to the wedding. You can buy an extra gift and say it's from me."

"Will" She pleaded. "Jem and Tessa are you best friends, you should be happy about this!"

He suddenly developed an interest in his shoes. "I can't be." He said, his voice so full of emotion it brought tears to young Cecily's eyes. Maybe he thought he would feel left out if they married? Or maybe... just as realization dawned on her Will confirmed her suspicions, but in a whisper clearly not meant for any ears besides his own. "Out of all the girls in the world, I had to fall for the one whose heart was already taken."

Cecily felt bad for her older brother, and understood his feelings for his friend but still thought he was being a bit melodramatic. "I'm sure there were other girls, and there will be more after her."

"No, Cecily, you don't understand. I only ever did or will love Tessa, no one else. She's special." His voice was full of pain and he was clearly on the verge of tears. Cecily wondered what must have happened to the poor, broken boy she used to know. Maybe it had something to do with the thing that had been eating at her for years.

"Will," she began slowly, "why did you leave home?"

"I wanted to become a shadowhunter" he answered shortly. "I always thought it had been a good decision. Until now." He began throwing rocks into the water with enough force to knock out one of the unlucky ducks. "Now I wish I'd never run away, never met them."

His tone clearly implied that there would be no further discussion on that subject, so Cecily asked him another question she had been contemplating. "But... Jem is dying. Doesn't that mean that you can eventually marry Tessa yourself?"

Will stared at her incredulously. She didn't know anything, she had only just been introduced to the shadowhunter world. She didn't even know what _parabatai_ meant. Marrying Tessa would make Will anticipate the death of Jem, and he would never be able to live with himself if he did. He stood up and continued throwing rocks into the water at the ducks, again with enough force to hopefully knock them out, once again taking out his anger on the helpless animals.

Cecily stood up, realizing her mistake. She walked up to Will and put her hand on his shoulder again. "I'm really sorry, I didn't mean it that way. I shouldn't have said that." Frowning at his new targets, she gave a small laugh. "What's with you and the ducks anyway?"

Despite his mood, Will allowed himself a small chuckle, immediately replaced by a scowl as he remembered the unpleasant experience. "A creepy duck followed me home one day." At his sister's disbelieving stare he added "It's true, just ask-" he chocked on his words. _Just ask Ella._ Ella was the one that had politely talked to the duck until it had eventually gone away. Who had died trying to save him from that horrible demon. Who had broken his heart. How messed up his life was.

Cecily had not known what Will had been about to say, but she had a pretty good guess. Taking his hand in an attempt to comfort him, she steered him back the way they had come, and they walked hand in hand down the old dirt road.

**Please review, it will make my day and I will check out your stories too!**


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